LEGO OrthancRemember this stunning 7 and a half foot tall Tower of Orthanc built entirely out of LEGO bricks? Featured on Wired, CNN and countless other websites including TheOneRing.net, this LEGO creation premiered at BrickCon in Seattle back in November 2011. Complete with an 8 foot diameter base consisting of over 25 Ents and 100 Orcs battling, ‘The Last March of the Ents’ by OneLug will be on display at TheOneRing.net’s ‘An Unexpected Art Show’.

‘The Last March of the Ents’ LEGO model recreates the epic storming of Saruman’s stronghold depicted in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and directly inspired by the artwork of Alan Lee. The base of the model contains many details familiar to fans of the movie including an ent on fire, water flooding Isengard, and Treebeard leading the charge with Merry and Pippin holding on tight.

This is likely to be the last time this creation will be on display publicly. There will also be some new original LEGO creations on display from the members of OneLug, in addition to ‘The Last March of the Ents’. If you don’t want to miss seeing this incredible work of art in person or any of the other wonderful artwork that will be on display, buy a ticket to the art show today!

Don't be hasty!Join TheOneRing.net for ‘An Unexpected Art Show’ in Los Angeles, California on Friday, February 22, from 7 PM to 1 AM. All ages are welcome to attend. Celebrating The HobbitThe Lord of the Rings and J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth, ‘An Unexpected Art Show’ will feature inspired art pieces — from paintings, drawings, and illustrations to prints — from a variety of artists. A limited number of tickets are available for $15 online and $20 at the door. ‘An Unexpected Art Show’ will be held at Lot 613, a blank-canvas special events space in the Historic Arts District of Downtown Los Angeles, located at 613 Imperial Street.

It’s all part of our Oscar Celebration weekend culminating with ‘The One Expected Party’! Tickets to ‘The One Expected Party’ are still available!

“…in the first days of the North Kingdom , they built a great watch-tower on Weathertop, Amon Sul they called it. It was burned and broken, and nothing remains of it now but a tumbled ring, like a rough crown on the old hill’s head. Yet once it was tall and fair. It is told that Elendil stood there watching for the coming of Gil-Galad out of the West, in the days of the Last Alliance.”

The Attack on Weathertop set with its 430 piece count, is a relatively easy build compared to some of the other larger sets like LEGO’s The Mines of Moria and the massive Helm’s Deep set, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t fun. The bigger sets require a larger time commitment and sometimes it is nice to actually finish a set within a day. To watch Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings movies and witness Middle-earth come alive is a life long dream for most Tolkien fans, but to actually be able to hold or construct a piece of Middle-earth with your own hands is an incredible feeling.

Continue reading “Product Review: LEGO® The Lord of the Rings “Attack on Weathertop””

O the many licensees to make collectibles for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey only one, The Bridge Direct, gets to make some of the coolest action figures you will find. For this review, I called upon my fellow collector and friend from our message board, Dwalin, for his insights. With the holidays fast approaching these items will make great choices for you to get your favorite fan of Middle-earth!

Full review after the break.

Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – The Bridge Direct’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey License”

‘It is said that the Hornburg has never fallen to assault,’ said Theoden; ‘but now my heart is doubtful. The world changes, and all that once was strong now proves unsure. How shall any tower withstand such numbers and such reckless hate? — From Helm’s Deep, The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

It is impossible to even say, “The Battle of Helm’s Deep” aloud without conjuring images from Peter Jackson’s incredible cinematic visuals of mayhem and battle. It was a complex bit of filmmaking on a long, cold, wet shoot that rem

ains legendary among stuntees and actors. Put it on your home theater and viewers cannot turn away.

LEGO faced the daunting task of bringing that movie sequence to life in a toy in a way that would be true to the film, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and yet work as a play set. The result is a massive set that retails at about $130 but can be located around $100 a lot of places including Amazon. (Toys-R-Us actually marks it higher online than in stores!) There is also a Urak-Hai Army companion set for around $30 that looks pretty cool on the store shelf but is not part of this review. Continue reading “Product review: LEGO Battle of Helm’s Deep set”

Yesterday another Hobbit poster hit the internet, and it contains some great character images!  These dwarves we’ve seen before – though it’s nice to see them in active pose.  But who is that top left?  It’s none other than goblin Bolg, as confirmed by the Bridge Direct action figure.

Not listed in Bridge Direct’s recent release list, but included in Vivid’s list for release in Europe, is also a  ‘Yazneg’ goblin figure, but for now there’s no Azog.  Of course we’ve also seen Grinnah and Fimbul the Hunter with his warg; but those fellas seem to be Misty Mountain goblins, connected to the Goblin King, whereas Bolg and Yazneg are connected to the earlier Goblin Wars (with Bolg being the son of Azog, and Yazneg a character created for the movies).  So what does this tell us about what we can expect to see in the first film of these goblins and their battles with the dwarves?  Do these toy releases mean we won’t have to wait until the second (or even third) movie to learn more about the Goblin Wars?  Why don’t you join us in our message board forums to speculate?

Thanks to our friends at Tolkiendrim.com for the heads up on these European toy releases – see the full list over at their website.

Our friends at LEGO have all those nifty LOTR brick sets you can construct and video games are in our future but now word comes of a Hobbit game you play on your tabletop. Below is the information direct from LEGO and a way to play along on Facebook. Look for the game at retail outlets starting today.

“From the LEGO Games collection that can be built, played, and changed to create a unique gaming experience every time comes The Hobbit Game from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey move hitting theaters Dec. 14th. Bilbo Baggins lives in the quaint village of Hobbiton, but today his comfort has been shattered by the arrival of 13 Dwarves. They have convinced Bilbo to embark on a most unexpected journey. But first Gandalf, along with the Dwarves Dwalin, Kili and Fili, must find the other ten Dwarves who are lost in the Hobbit holes of Hobbiton. Features buildable dice, microfigure characters: Gandald, Dwalin, Kili or Fili, and LEGO building instructions. Continue reading “LEGO desktop game adds to new Hobbit items”